Most helpful positive review

This is a superb book on all counts. The author, Mohammed Yunus, is the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winning economist for his work in micro-credit to end poverty in Bangladesh. Over the years he realized that his micro-lending work resulted in the creation of a very different kind of business, one whose focus is social good rather than profit. He calls it "Social Business". It addresses some of the fundamental shortcomings of capitalism which we are all too familiar with when profits come before people and when the success of the world's economy is predicated on unsustainable growth (e.g. environmental damage, labor abuses). Capitalism also provides no answers for poverty - there is not enough profit there. Indeed, it is part of the cause. Capitalism misrepresents human nature as being mono-dimensional, seeking only to maximize profits.

Yunus takes great pains to explain the concept, addressing many questions he frequently gets. It is different from a regular business in that all profits are rolled back into the business to create more social benefit, rather than paid out as dividends to investors or owners. He compares Social Business to many other efforts and kinds of organizations devoted to creating social good. For example, unlike a charity, Social Business is financially self-sustaining, not having to devote major resources to getting donations. It is attractive for people who wish to support social causes because the money they invest in a social business comes back to them, and can be re-invested to get further social returns. He also discusses NGOs, Social Marketing, Social Entrepreneurism Corporate Social Responsibility and various new kinds of organizations that are popping up.

* An update on the Grameen-Danon joint venture to produce affordable nutritious yogurt was given. Mistakes were made, lessons were learned, and the future now looks good. * A new venture between Grameen and Veolia has gotten started to provide safe arsenic-free water in Bangladesh * A few health care related Social Businesses are described along with the creation of a nursing school to train locals who then work in the villages or overseas. * Other separate organizations that are cooperating with Grameen are popping up to disseminate knowledge and expertise in Social Business -- e.g. in Germany, Scotland and California. * Universities are creating programs. There is a Social Business Chair at HEC, a presigious business school in Paris. This is a step closer to Yunus's dream of having a MBA program focused on Social Business entrepreneurship. * The first annual Social Business Summit was held in November 2009

Yunus also gives a lot of ideas in many different sectors for how you might start your own social business, along with a lot ofnuts and bolts practical advice. One interesting pattern that is emerging in various social businesses is what he calls the "cross subsidisation" business model. The prices are kept very low in the villages where people cannot afford them, and the full market rate is being charged in the cities where people are better off. This is working for health care, yogurt and water.

Overall this is a great book, telling of what might evolve into a massive shift in how capitalist economies operate. Social Business fills an important gap left by capitalism and can also sit comfortable alongside it.

Yunus has spent his whole adult life thinking about these things, and it shows. He even talks about a separate stock market for social businesses.

Most helpful critical review

This book on social business draws a lot from Yunis' other two booksBanker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World PovertyCreating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism with the exception that it goes a little farther in-depth on the Dannon project and other corporations that are taking notice of the social business phenomenon and producing new ventures. The book also goes further into encouraging people to start their own social business If you've read his other two books, this one has a small amount of new information, but if you've read the other two, you'll most likely notice a lot of repeat information/familiar bits from his previous work. For the person new to social business read his other work before this one.

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

This is a superb book on all counts. The author, Mohammed Yunus, is the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winning economist for his work in micro-credit to end poverty in Bangladesh. Over the years he realized that his micro-lending work resulted in the creation of a very different kind of business, one whose focus is social good rather than profit. He calls it "Social Business". It addresses some of the fundamental shortcomings of capitalism which we are all too familiar with when profits come before people and when the success of the world's economy is predicated on unsustainable growth (e.g. environmental damage, labor abuses). Capitalism also provides no answers for poverty - there is not enough profit there. Indeed, it is part of the cause. Capitalism misrepresents human nature as being mono-dimensional, seeking only to maximize profits.

Yunus takes great pains to explain the concept, addressing many questions he frequently gets. It is different from a regular business in that all profits are rolled back into the business to create more social benefit, rather than paid out as dividends to investors or owners. He compares Social Business to many other efforts and kinds of organizations devoted to creating social good. For example, unlike a charity, Social Business is financially self-sustaining, not having to devote major resources to getting donations. It is attractive for people who wish to support social causes because the money they invest in a social business comes back to them, and can be re-invested to get further social returns. He also discusses NGOs, Social Marketing, Social Entrepreneurism Corporate Social Responsibility and various new kinds of organizations that are popping up.

* An update on the Grameen-Danon joint venture to produce affordable nutritious yogurt was given. Mistakes were made, lessons were learned, and the future now looks good. * A new venture between Grameen and Veolia has gotten started to provide safe arsenic-free water in Bangladesh * A few health care related Social Businesses are described along with the creation of a nursing school to train locals who then work in the villages or overseas. * Other separate organizations that are cooperating with Grameen are popping up to disseminate knowledge and expertise in Social Business -- e.g. in Germany, Scotland and California. * Universities are creating programs. There is a Social Business Chair at HEC, a presigious business school in Paris. This is a step closer to Yunus's dream of having a MBA program focused on Social Business entrepreneurship. * The first annual Social Business Summit was held in November 2009

Yunus also gives a lot of ideas in many different sectors for how you might start your own social business, along with a lot ofnuts and bolts practical advice. One interesting pattern that is emerging in various social businesses is what he calls the "cross subsidisation" business model. The prices are kept very low in the villages where people cannot afford them, and the full market rate is being charged in the cities where people are better off. This is working for health care, yogurt and water.

Overall this is a great book, telling of what might evolve into a massive shift in how capitalist economies operate. Social Business fills an important gap left by capitalism and can also sit comfortable alongside it.

Yunus has spent his whole adult life thinking about these things, and it shows. He even talks about a separate stock market for social businesses.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

This book on social business draws a lot from Yunis' other two booksBanker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World PovertyCreating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism with the exception that it goes a little farther in-depth on the Dannon project and other corporations that are taking notice of the social business phenomenon and producing new ventures. The book also goes further into encouraging people to start their own social business If you've read his other two books, this one has a small amount of new information, but if you've read the other two, you'll most likely notice a lot of repeat information/familiar bits from his previous work. For the person new to social business read his other work before this one.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Another incredible insight from an exeptional man. Make sure to read if you're interested in Social Business. For info on Grameen read his first book. For info on microfinance and social business in general, read his second book. This one is very targeted.

We run a social business in conjunction with the Yunus Center, the book inspired us to change how our company was structured resulting in amazing gains. My major criticism is however, major. Yunus describes various Grameen businesses, though he does not make the distinction which ones are social businesses and which are for profit. The context leaves one to believe that they are all socially structured and the only way one would know to the contrary is to have an on the ground knowledge of Grameen operations. What could have been interesting would be to instead embrace the truth and launch a chapter on why some Grameen companies became for-profit. He would have done well to tackle this ambiguity head on.

This book is an excellent rendition on how to invest inpoor countries while getting a modest return and doingmuch good at the same time. The classic profit maximizationmodel does not produce optimum results because manyworking poor simply cannot afford the higher prices.To some extent, this phenomenom is happening in theUSA. Hence, there are Grameen branches in Brooklynand Queens, New York.

Yunus guarantees loans to the poor ; thereby acting asan intermediary. This is not much different from theUSA government guaranteeing certain loans toborrowers. The result is that bankers are much morewilling to lend money due to the guaranteed payment.Borrowers repay in small weekly amounts. Womenhave great drive to overcome poverty. The GrameenBank lends $100 million dollars a month incollateral free loans averaging $200 apiece .The repayment rate is an astounding 98%.

Grameen lends money to beggars to sell toys,households and foodstuffs door-to-door.There are 100,000 beggars in the program.Since implementation of the program, over18,000 beggars have quit begging.

Grameen offers children of borrowers money to goto school. And so, 50,000 students are pursuingmedicine and engineering coursework. This programis microcredit or microfinance at its best. In somecases, a mother may be illiterate and her childrengo on to become physicians and engineersdue to the Grameen Bank.

Grameen Violia Water sells pure water at a pricethat the poor can afford. In the future, the"Artificial Sun" coupled with desalinationmay be able to accomplish a similar feat.

The objective of the Grameen program is toovercome poverty, have a sustainable economyand have a modest return on the investment.When loans are paid back, profits are plowedback into the company not unlike the functionof retained earnings in a for-profit company.

Fabio Rosa has brought solar energy to nearly750,000 Brazilian homes with no electricitypreviously. There is a similar opportunity to doso for the Palestinians, if the various strategicconstituencies can agree on a workablesettlement.

A similar cooperative arrangement could bebrought to the Medicaid program here in theUnited States in places like Appalachia andother rural communities where professionalsare hardly ever seen practicing their craft.

The first major attempt to outline Appalachia as adistinctive cultural region came in the 1890s throughthe tireless efforts of the Berea College President .William Goodell Frost coined the phrase"Appalachian America" which encompassed 194counties in 8 states.

The Grameen organizations seek to promote socialbusiness under the umbrella of charitableorganizations and non-profit groups. Universitiesand think tanks are another great resource forGrameen and its people. A successful programhas been underway to cross-fertilize the poorand the wealthy to deliver affordable bone marrowtransplants for everyone. The assignment algorithmsin linear programming and operations research maybe utilized to bring together donors and patientsalike.

Overall, the book is well written by a popularNobelist- Dr. Muhammad Yunus. The ideas containedin this book could be applicable to bothpoor and rich countries since virtually everycountry on this earth has poor people inevery walk of life .

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

This is the only book I've ever read by Muhammad Yunus, so I am basing my comments on his philosophy solely on the content of this book. Previous reviewers have noted that reading his other books first may be more beneficial. Mr. Yunus gives an unambiguous & digestible explanation of his definition of "social business". Nothwithstanding this is a well written book, which many will glean powerful business & humanistic lessons, Mr. Yunus tends to place his philosophy in a "holier than thou" light more often than not. While the heart of the book is about poverty, a running theme is the constant ridicule of traditionally formed businesses, with an overriding assumption that most are profit-obsessed, blood-thirsty, winner-takes-all enterprises; he uses the term "profit-maximizing" companies ubiquitously. What of the hundreds of thousands of businesses around the world that create products & services that improve the quality of life, at very fair prices? What of the local diner owner who serves the best pancakes around, who charges $2.99 a plate knowing people could & would easily pay $3.99, with a wonderful atmosphere that allows families to share a great meal together? What of larger corporations, like Trader Joes & IKEA, who offer fantastic products at affordable prices that allow the average person to improve their quality of life at reasonable cost, just like what Mr. Yunus does in Bangledesh? My point is there are a large number of businesses that are foregoing richer profits to, as he suggests only social businesses can do, "help human beings live better, fuller lives".

The rest of my points: 1- Cross-subsidization IS a form of charity. When you charge one person more for an item SPECIFICALLY so that another can buy it much cheaper, you are instituting charity into the transaction. Exploitation is exploitation. 2- The "grameen ladies" work off commission, PROFITing off their efforts. Unless you are impoverished, everyone else in the world who does this is self-centered & shallow, UNLESS of course you invest money in Grameen and waive your right to a profit...huh? 3- Social businesses, charities, etc. DEPEND on the success & subsequent altruism of the so-called "profit-maximizing" businesses they criticize and behave self-righteous towards. Funny, when the bangledeshi's wouldn't buy the highly nutritious yogurt at the fair price Grameen offered it at, Grameen upped the sugar content and reduced the portion size in order to increase profits so they could survive. Really? They made it more unhealthy in order to increase profits? Interesting! More examples like this abound in the book, especially when he covers the competitive salaries offered at Grameen companies. Profit by another name is still...

Regardless of the tone suggested here, I am a humanist and support the eradication of poverty, and the improvement of life. Overrall, I enjoyed this book, as it facilitated deep introspection. I believe in value for value. I believe in choice. I am not of the social business mindset as HE strictly defines it. I believe that profit is a way of saying "thank you" for a job well done. I do not aim to simply survive. I can forgo a 60% profit margin for a 40% one in the best interest of humanity, as I believe many business people would also do without much thought. I have done this. What I will NOT do is pretend that I do not have a right to define & improve the quality of life sought for myself and my family, simply because I already have electricity.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Building Social Business attempts to communicate the value and potential worth of a concept called "Social Business." The author, Muhammad Yunus, through a mixture of exposure, practical advice and hope-filled discourse, lays out the case for solving social issues with his business model. Instead of presenting the story of social business in a textbook-like fashion, Yunus takes the reader on a journey though the history, theory and lessons-learned of his collective social business experience. Redundant and drawn out at times, he takes the entire book to fully explain his business model while addressing problems, fears, and inspiration along the way. Yunus concludes his case in the final chapter by expressing his vision for the end of poverty with a new proposed era of worldwide social business.

Early in the book, the author helps to explain social business by pointing out what it is not. "Social enterprise," "social entrepreneurship," "charity organizations," "non-governmental organizations," "non-profit organizations" are definitely not the same thing. Yunus defines social business simply as a traditional business that sustains itself but whose purpose is to create social benefits rather than to generate a profit. A social business can be further categorized into two subtypes. A type I business is a non-profit making company devoted to solving social problems owned by investors who reinvest all profits back into the business. A type II social business is owned by poor people themselves. Type II social businesses are "profit-making" but since these profits go to poor people (the owners), the businesses are still helping to solve social problems. Since most of the book concentrates on type I social business, Yunus feels it important to explain the Seven Principles of type I:

1. The business objective is to overcome poverty or one or more problems (such as education, health, technology, access, and environment) that threaten people and society--not to maximize profit.2. The company will attain financial and economic sustainability.3. Investors get back only their investment amount. No dividend is given beyond the return of original investment4. When the investment amount is paid back, profit stays with the company for expansion and improvement.5. The company will be environmentally conscious.6. The workforce gets market wage with better-than-standard working conditions.7. Do it with joy!!!

The middle chapters of the book serve a few purposes. First, Yunus talks frankly about some of the challenges that must be overcome when attempting to create a social business. For example, in 2007, Grameen Danone, a social business that makes yogurt for poor people in Borja, Bangladesh, ran into serious difficulty. The price of milk doubled and the company was no longer sustainable by selling 80 grams of yogurt at 5 taka (7 cents). He therefore had to decide if the price of the product should be raised or somehow try to cut costs another way. His decision to raise his price to 8 taka was met with disastrous consequences; yogurt sales plummeted. After a lot more brainstorming, Yunus decided to sell the product in a smaller 60 gram container for only 6 taka. The business recovered but he sends the message to the reader that running a social business (just as a traditional business) requires a great degree of flexibility.

Next, advice on launching a social business is provided to the reader. Yunus tries to reach out to those that wish to get involved with social business but don't know how. When starting a social business, don't look for opportunities that will generate maximum profits. He suggests, instead, that potential creators of social business pick a social problem then seek a business solution to solve the problem. He additionally discusses ideas on what social problems a person might attempt to solve through social business. Some common examples are poverty, hunger, disease, healthcare and pollution to name a few. While solving some of the world's toughest problems, like poverty, may not be realistic, Yunus advises that people start small and start right away. Providing employment, for example, to five people is a very realistic goal for a new social business entrepreneur.

Weaved into the discussion is information about some social businesses he helped to create over the years. His first social business was Grameen Bank (which means village bank). Established in 1976, the bank provides microcredit to poor people in Bangladesh. Microcredit loans average about $200 per loan. Already discussed is Grameen Danone, a social business that produces affordable yogurt. The social problem addressed by that business is that of malnourishment in poor rural areas. The yogurt provides essential and much needed nutrition for folks at a price they can afford.On the healthcare front, in 2009, Yunus' Grameen organization teamed up with the Cure2Children Foundation (of Italy). The goal is to set up a social business in Bangladesh to start bone marrow transplantation, the only way to cure thalassemia (an inherited blood disorder). The goal of this venture is to make self-sustaining business by charging well-off families the standard rate for bone marrow transplant operations. This, in turn, will help to pay for families that can contribute little or nothing. For every two full price patients served, a third poor patient can be treated for a token fee or none at all.Lastly, Yunus discusses Grameen Veola Water. The company is half owned by Veolia Water AMI (Africa, Middle East, India) and half by Grameen Healthcare. This social business was established in 2008 to supply drinking water to the poorest people of Bangladesh. Unfortunately, for geological reasons, almost all of the groundwater the country has been found to be contaminated by arsenic, at levels that make it a health hazard. Today, more than 30 million Bangladeshis are exposed to the sometimes fatal consequences of chronic arsenic poisoning.

Starting small and with the goal of producing 10 liters of clean water for 1 taka (1 cent), Grameen Veola has begun supplying safe water to poor rural people. Many of the villagers are unaccustomed to paying for water and this has proved to be a snag in the business plan. Yunus, however, optimistically states that Grameen Veola is a work in progress. As long as the central goal of providing an affordable, sustainable and healthy supply of drinking water to the poor people is kept in focus, there's no problem with testing many ways of making the project economically viable.Yunus concludes his work with an optimistic view of his social business model and how it has attracted so much positive attention in the past few years from every continent. In contrast, however, he also takes a critical stance on capitalism by pointing out where it has failed humanity since the recent financial crisis. According to Yunus, the demands for ever-increasing profits and the creative ways to make that possible (repackaged mortgages and other such loans) caused the collapse of the US housing market. That collapse has had a world-wide affect where millions around the world who did nothing wrong are now suffering.

He's quick to point though that great crisis offers great opportunity. Yunus believes that social business has the potential to reverse current affairs by bringing the poor into the mainstream economic system. He thinks it can transform society by potentially ending poverty in the foreseeable future. When pondering what the world with be like in the year 2030, Yunus thinks that a science-fiction writer has a better chance at predicting the course of humanity than the best scientists and economic analysts of our time. Analysts are trained to make forecasts on the basis of past and present but Yunus concludes with the assertion that "events in the real world are driven by dreams of the people."

Discussion

I chose this book to read because the title led me to believe that the author is a proponent of socialism and big-government solutions to world problems. I, unashamedly, am a pro-capitalist and an anti-socialist who strongly values the ideas of limited government, free markets and individual liberty. Prior to reading, I thought this would honestly be a good opportunity to reinforce my own views while pointing out the fallacy of a world-view I don't subscribe to. My preconceived ideas about this book actually proved to be somewhat incorrect. Additionally, I am a bit embarrassed to admit I knew next to nothing about the author even though he is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

I do not agree with everything Muhammad Yunus presents in his work. I do not share, for example, his belief that traditional capitalism is responsible for poverty and that it creates a "fairytale of prosperity for all." Despite such disagreements, I have come away with newfound knowledge and some genuine respect for the social business concept. While I don't know for certain if Yunus values the tenets of socialism, I was pleased to read about his solutions for helping the less fortunate. He advocates neither big-government solutions nor wealth redistribution initiatives. Yunus, in a nutshell, seeks to reduce poverty by constructing self-sustaining businesses with the mission of creating social benefits, instead of maximizing profits.

The belief in helping others is not monopolized by one side of the political spectrum or the other. I believe that most people, regardless of their political and economic views, desire to be helpful to others in life. Society should, however, be ever mindful of the tenet which says "God" helps those that help themselves. This, in part, is why I hold a favorable view of Yunus `work. Rather than creating a society of government dependence and learned helplessness, Yunus proposes societal transformation via the desire to help the less fortunate coupled with hard work, taking risks and the use of capitalism.

Proposal for problem identified in book

One of the problems identified in the book is that there are currently no legal and regulatory systems to govern social businesses. According to Yunus, "profit-maximizing companies and traditional non-profit organizations are recognized institutions covered by specific rules regarding organizational structure, governance and decision making principles, tax treatment, information disclosure, transparency and so on." Social business is not a recognized category.

Currently, if an individual created a social business in the United States (or elsewhere) there exists the potential for that business owner to be sued. In our world there is an implicit or explicit rule that for-profit companies have a legal obligation to maximize profits for their owners and shareholders. A social business, diverting all resources and profits to socially beneficial purposes, plots a course which is contrary to currently accepted business practices. The potential for legal and economic problems is surely predictable.

If social business is to succeed and become a "standard" model for creating social good, then certain steps should be undertaken to ensure its protection. First, as discussed previously, any profit generated by a social business profit goes to help combat a particular social problem or is put back into the company itself. It would be necessary, therefore, for owners, board members and shareholders to partake in some sort of legal agreement verifying this arrangement. Everybody must be on the same page in other words.

Another necessary step would be to pass laws (nationally and internationally) that govern social business. Such laws would define what a social business is and does as well as spell out what obligations it has to its shareholders (and vice versa). Another important area needing legislation would be procedures under which a profit-maximizing company can switch to a social business company (and vice versa).

Finally, rules concerning the tax obligations of a social business must be defined. Should a social business more closely resemble a traditional non-profit organization when it comes to paying taxes (tax exempt)? According to Yunus, creating a favorable environment for social business to thrive is desirable but mandating a tax-exempt status goes too far. If a social business owner takes the dollar which was supposed to be handed over to the government as tax then, he argues, the business benefits financially and "gives in" to selfish motivations. Such motivations should be irrelevant with a social business. Making social businesses taxable entities keeps them true to the goals of helping people and solving problems.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Yunus proved something about poor people that no one believed. You can lend poor people money and they will pay you back, if you give them the support they need to run a business. Yunus proved this 30 years ago with the invention of micro lending.

Now he is suggesting something about rich people that no one believes which is that they are not solely motivated to make money and can be, instead, motivated to create businesses that solve problems.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Mohammed Yunus is popularly known as the Father of Microfinance. However microfinance is only one example within the framework of Social Business that he passionately advocates and practices.

This is his third book. The first book: `Banker to the Poor" was a path breaking classic that narrated the powerful concept of microfinance. Jobra, the little known village in Bangladesh, found its rightful place under the sun, thanks to the first $27 from the Professor of Chittagong University, with his commitment to fight poverty. The Grameen movement was born. Most of Grameen's beneficiaries are illiterate, but as human beings, they do not lack creativity, ingenuity and above all integrity to put the smallest amounts of credit to good use. This book turned the concept of banking upside down. Conventional banks refuse to lend money to the poor since they lack "collateral". When giant global banks run by the most qualified and highly paid bankers collapsed during the recent global financial meltdown, Grameen was making good progress, earning profits and helping the poorest of the poor to earn a decent living. "Bankers, go back to school" was the title of my review for this book.

The second book "Creating a World without Poverty" introduced the concept of Social Business. Social business executes the laudable social objectives with the missionary zeal of a charity, with the efficiency and speed of a profit maximizing business. Hence, we had a unique business model to solve substantial social problems, as demonstrated by Grameen Danone in maximizing nutrition and health in poor children through affordable yoghurt.

This third book is the logical extension of the first two books in a passionate mission to "send poverty to the museums in our lifetime".

It is time that we pay serious attention to the concept of Social Business through public and private sector cooperation, MBA programs and necessary legislation to define this form of business so as to ensure that the governance structures, business processes and accounting standards emerge to establish the new form of organization that can play a major role in solving global problems, especially in relation to elimination of poverty from the face of this earth.

There is an excellent definition of the concept of Social business in the introduction. A further classification of social business as Type I where the investors do not get anything other their initial investment and Type ii where the investors are the poor themselves and profits are reinvested to expand the business.

Contrary to popular belief, social business aims at providing market wages and better than average working conditions to its employees.

There are excellent case studies of diverse ventures, mostly joint ventures. Danone for yogurt, Veolia for clean drinking water in arsenic contaminated regions, Adidas for affordable footwear, BASF for treated mosquito nets. In all these cases, it is important to note that the price points of the offerings are that which is affordable by the poor. There is substantial effort on innovative design, frugal engineering and creative business models. It is a tough journey, but worth every bit. The multinationals involved in these ventures are global technological giants. This also proves the point that low cost products are not low technology or low quality products. In fact it is harder to design a solution working backwards to reach a cost target and offer a value proposition that solves the problems of the poor. This is business with soul and products with a brain.

Classical economics deals with incomes,consumption and choices based on rational decisions. Under this, there is no place for social business on our planet. However, a new school of thought termed "Behavioral Economics" challenges the rational aspect of conventional wisdom. Humans have emotions. We all feel the joys and sorrows of life. Economics is an aspect of human life, and cannot be studied in isolation from human emotions, norms and behavior.

Amongst the 7 principles of social business listed in the book, the seventh principle says "Do it with joy". We have plenty of financial experts for calculating return on investments and shareholder value. None till date can measure the value of inner joy in making this planet a better place for all mankind. What we need is not just economic growth, but growth with a human face.

Once again, I salute this Banker to the Poor for his outstanding work and leadership.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

In the 1980's Muhammad Yunus set up micro-banking in Bangladesh for poor people to start small businesses. He had an accountability method and found the almost every person repaid the money. These businesses helped families escape from poverty.

Yunus realized that children needed proper nutrition to grow up with good minds capable of remaining outside of poverty. Along with a French company he devised a plan to sell supplement-enhanced yogurt to poor children at a price families could afford. To do so the company agreed to receive back their investment but not to be given any extra profits.

Soon Yunus worked with another company to provide clean drinking water to poor people, using the same business plan--return of investment, but no profit.

This author set up a nine-point plan for his own business and now is working toward many other ideas to reduce world poverty. His next venture may be low-cost shoes to keep children's feet from picking up diseases and parasites from the soil.

This man has a host of ideas that can truly help poor people find better lives. Building Social Business will inspire other caring entrepreneurs to find the same satisfaction this author experiences. Anyone who cares about poor people will find this book encouraging and helpful.

Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, a microcredit lender, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to fighting world poverty. Although the government of Bangladesh eventually forced him to leave the bank (possibly for political reasons), his views still convey great force. Yunus espouses an economy that embraces humanity as a pool of positive potential. His book, written with Karl Weber, lays out a blueprint for "social business." It details compelling case studies of how various Grameen enterprises handle everyday market problems. getAbstract recommends it to executives who want to enfranchise good works, and to garage-office entrepreneurs and public policy technocrats who believe in a world with less poverty, but who need a little guidance to get there.